The IEEE 1394 standard defines the physical and electrical standard for connectors provided in various equipments which are interconnected. As the equipments having such interfaces conformable to the IEEE 1394 standard are physically connected, hot plug and play for automatically carrying out high-speed transmission/reception of digital data and connection setting between the equipments can be realized. The IEEE 1394 standard has become popular as the serial interface standard standardized in the industry.
The IEEE 1394 interface has also become popular as the interface for connecting AV equipments, as well as in the computer field. Specifically, in the case where an STB (set top box) for receiving satellite broadcast and displaying it on a television unit and a printer device for printing an image are connected with each other through the IEEE 1394 interface, the STB controls the printer device by using the FCP (function control protocol) and AV/C protocol. In this case, the STB and the printer device have the FCP and AV/C protocol mounted thereon and operate in accordance with the FCP command and AV/C command.
In an image printing system having a printer device which is connected through the conventional IEEE 1394 interface and has the FCP and AV/C protocol mounted thereon and a controller for controlling the printer device, when printing a static image, setting items defined by the operation mode (operation_mode_parameters) indicating information for carrying out print setting are designated by the controller and stored into an asynchronous packet, and printing is carried out by the printer device. In this case, the controller carries out print setting in accordance with a request from the user. Such print setting is proposed in “1394 TRADE ASSOCIATION TA Document XXXXXXX AV/C Printer Subunit Specification Version 1.0 Draft 0.5: 145.”
Specifically, when printing by the printer device is controlled by the controller, the user sets information for setting the relation of an image and a print sheet in three stages of large, medium and small sizes (sizing), information for setting the printing direction of the print sheet (orientations), information for setting the printing position of the image (posx, posy), information indicating what number of times the same image should be printed within the print sheet (multiple_tiled), information indicating how many images should be printed on one page (number_of_pics), and information indicating how many copies should be printed (number_of_copies). The user stores these pieces of information into an asynchronous packet and transmits it to the printer device so as to carry out printing.
Meanwhile, in such controller and printer device, for example, if the information indicating how many images should be printed on one page is set so as to print four images on one page, four images contracted to 1/4 are allocated to the respective areas generated by quadrisecting one sheet, as shown in FIG. 1.
However, in such controller and printer device, in the case of printing a plurality of images on one page, printing cannot be made in such a manner that a blank area is partly provided. For example, in the case of printing four images on one page, it is not possible to provide a blank area for one image and allocate three images contracted to 1/4 in the respective areas, as shown in FIG. 2.
The present Applicant proposed the contents of the Japanese Patent Application No. H11-261279, which is the base of priority of the present application, to the IEEE 1394 Trade Association for standardization at suitable timing, and the contents of the proposal are made public as the following drafts by the IEEE 1394 Trade Association:
AV/C Printer Subunit Specification Version 1.0, Draft 0.97: 60 (2Q00 AVWG Off-Cycle Meeting on May 24–25, 2000); and
AV/C Printer Subunit Specification Version 1.0, Draft 0.7: 5 (1Q00 TA QM AV-WG on Jan. 18, 2000).